US environmental regulators extend deadline for old oil spill cleanup chemicals

The US environmental regulators are delaying a deadline for oil spill cleanup products. This means older chemicals, which do not meet new testing standards, can still be used for an additional six months.

The US environmental regulators updated rules for oil spill cleanup chemicals in 2023, requiring new testing. The original plan was to remove older, untested products from the approved list by December 2025. This extension means that if no new, compliant products are available for certain categories, responders will still have options, even if those options are older and less rigorously tested under the new rules.